


The Unsmiling Prince

by alfing



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Could be seen as platonic, Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash, The Princess Who Never Smiled AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-02
Packaged: 2018-12-23 00:39:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11978466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alfing/pseuds/alfing
Summary: (The Princess Who Never Smiled AU)Law is a prince who never once smiled, until he met a farm boy named Luffy.





	The Unsmiling Prince

**Author's Note:**

> Special Thanks to kaizokunohime for being my beta! 
> 
> I also want to apologize if it's kind of boring, I found the idea cute and wanted to attempt it.

**T** here was no point in smiling, he believed, if there really wasn’t anything to be smiling about. There was death, so much death, and there was grief, and there was loneliness. Those all applied to him. He, who had witnessed the death of his father, mother, and sister. He, who had lost everything precious to him in an instant. But when the duke of this grand country took him in as his own, the smallest fire was rekindled. Even so, he refused to smile.

This greatly concerned the duke who cared for this child as though he were his own son. Everyone should have a reason to smile. Whether it be because they had found the beauty of life, or because their brother’s advisor, Vergo, was terribly oblivious about the spoon attached to his face. Rocinante, the Duke of (one minor part of) Dressrosa and the younger brother to the King, had adopted a young lad named Law. The boy was the son of a nobleman who also happened to be a well known surgeon in the kingdom. Unfortunately, his family was killed in a fire of unknown origins, and the poor boy was left alone. Rocinante had a rather soft spot for children and had taken him in right after their funeral. At first, Law had been reluctant to accept him as family so quickly, but over time, they grew close.

The only problem Rocinante faced was the fact that the prince never smiled.

Rocinante wanted nothing but his son’s happiness, and was determined to find the one who could make him so. The duke had announced to all of their neighboring and allied countries that the one who can make the prince smile can marry him. The response was almost immediate, princes and princesses from all over came to Dressrosa to try his hand in marriage, a all of them only succeeding in failure. But Rocinante still had hope that there was someone out there who could make his son smile.

 

An enthusiastic farm boy who wore a straw hat shouted a loud greeting towards the couple riding towards him on a cart. Those two were from the city but always took the time to visit their dear friend whenever they came to the countryside. Their names were Nico Robin and Franky. Robin, a beautiful, yet gloomy woman with a taste for horror and gore was a historian and archaeologist who spent most of her time reading or in the museum when she wasn’t on an expedition. Franky, her loyal husband, was a rather large man in both build and stature who was fascinated by the ways of science. He was an engineer, and tinkered with gears and machinery on a daily basis.

“Good day, Luffy. How fares my dearest friend?” inquired the archaeologist once her husband stopped the cart.

The farm boy, Luffy, gave a grin bright enough to outshine the sun. “Everything’s going great! Ace and Sabo went into town a few days ago, did you see them?”

“Nay, we had most likely left just before they arrived,” Robin replied with a short shake of her head, dark locks swaying with the gesture.

“Ah, well that’s fine. Is there anything new going on? News travels slowly when you live in the middle of nowhere,” the boy commented curiously, a twinkle in his eye.

“There’s an odd assemblage of ships at the harbor. They’re from all sorts a’ places like Alabasta, Drum, Goa...” Franky counted off the different kingdoms with each finger. “Heard they’re here to court the prince.”

Luffy gave a surprised look. “We have a prince?” he realized, evoking a similar shock in his two friends.

“Oh my, you didn’t know?” Robin gave a brief chuckle. “It has been over thirteen years since the duke adopted His Highness. I wonder how you never found out.”

The boy gave a childish huff, offended that they knew more than him. “I told you that news travels slowly,” he defended, only earning two more laughs from his friends. Luffy frowned in disapproval before jumping onto the cart with them. “I wanna go to the city.”

Robin and Franky were both unfazed by his sudden declaration, already used to the boy’s random decisions, and merely smiled before agreeing with enthusiasm. It had been awhile since they had brought Luffy into the city with them, so of course the suggestion was welcomed easily. Franky stirred their mule into motion again and they rode down the bumpy dirt path with the boy with a straw hat sitting between them.

 

At first, Law had found Rocinante’s idea ridiculous. To have his suitors try and make him smile was laughable just at the mention of it. But apparently, the invitation was taken seriously and many people came from all over just to do so? Honestly, he could give a bitter laugh at the thought and no one would be a winner. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case as he faced his umpteenth suitor with a bored expression. This man had an unique style. He wasn’t dressed as formally as the other princes, he dressed with a darker and more dramatic flare. His hair was the color red and his lips painted black. Law learned that his name was Eustass Kid, a prince from the South Blue.

Although they had just met, he found he already disliked the man. He was cocky, that much was obvious from the way he walked in and the way he addressed Law. He didn’t bother with a bow, as was the proper way to greet another prince in their kingdom. His posture was horrible and he was terribly tall, like a giant had mated with a rather frightful looking clown. Despite all of this, Rocinante insisted that the two try to get along, that perhaps they actually had a lot more in common than the realized. But that was not the case. They got along like oil and water, there was no way for them to be friends, let alone attempt to be betrothed.

“There’s no point in doing this anymore,” Law had said to Rocinante once that Eustass Kid had retreated to his ship. It was obvious that he had disappointed the other prince, but it wasn’t like he actually cared. “There’s no way I’m going to smile for any of them.”

The duke was the most dejected compared to all of those failed suitors. As a father, he only wanted what was best for his son and in this case, that was happiness. “Why won’t you smile, Law? Aren’t you happy here? Am I not a good father to you?”

Law glanced at Rocinante before giving a sigh. “I am happy here. And I am thankful that you took me in all those years ago. But I simply do not wish to smile. I hope you can forgive me for that,” he tried to assure, a hand resting on the duke’s shoulder.

And it was because he loved his son that he told all the suitors that remained to go home, that his happiness was something that couldn’t be won in such a way.

 

The reason why Luffy never got to visit the city as often as his brothers was because he was much more reckless. Let me be more specific: if one happens to be in a situation when they are told not to do something for a very, very elaborate cause, it is expected that the warning would be acknowledged and no harm would be done. In Luffy’s case, he would completely ignore every reason related as to why he  _ shouldn’t _ do it, and the very first thing he would do is do the thing he  _ shouldn’t _ do. Among his closest friends and family, it was called “pulling a Luffy.” Unfortunately, it was the one thing Robin and Franky had forgotten about when they brought him along with them.

At the start, all was well. They rode through the gate of the city without a hassle and steered their cart down the cobblestone path. The streets were abuzz with the cacophony of the marketplace and squealing children. Ahead was the palace of which belonged to the duke of Dressrosa. Yes, this small city and part of the countryside was owned by the king’s younger brother while the rest was ruled by Doflamingo himself. Though, Luffy was painfully ignorant to all of this and decided that the big castle in the distance would make for a great place of adventure.

Another reason why he wasn’t allowed to enter the city often: you cannot take your eyes off of him for more than a millisecond. And that was because the boy was fast. Both Robin and Franky had made the mistake of looking away for an entire second and by the time their attention returned, Luffy was gone. Much to their amusement, of course. Those two were never really concerned, unlike the rest of their friends.

Luffy had wandered off towards the castle, occasionally getting distracted by the delicious aroma of food being cooked out in the stands or through the windows of homes. Having no money on him, the boy had to sneak the food into his pockets without getting caught. Though, before he could put anything in his pockets, his hands stopped themselves. Ace and Sabo would be mad at him if he took food without asking. And he didn’t like it when his brothers were mad at him. So he placed his hands back into his pockets then continued to the castle.

As he grew nearer to the palace, he saw that it was even bigger up close. Robin had mentioned how this castle only belonged to the duke. So does that mean the king’s palace was even larger? Luffy wondered what sorts of things were in there, if there were any interesting people or treasures. He managed to blend right in with the people who bustled in and out of the courtyard, slipping past the guards and waltzing into the castle without even earning a glance. Luffy’s eyes wandered everywhere, one hand sat atop his hat to keep it from falling off his head.

He had never seen a place so big before, and the city was the biggest place he knew! His explorations soon became aimless and he walked off to areas where no one else seemed to be. That’s how he decided he would start his adventure. Luffy studied the stands of armor positioned against the wall. He stared at the intimidating portraits of the Donquixote family which hung right above them. As he passed down the corridor, he saw one particular portrait that caught his eye. An unsmiling prince with a beautiful face. He didn’t recognize him, but then again, he didn’t recognize any of the people in the portraits. He reached a hand up to try and touch the painting.

“What do you think you’re doing?” a voice said from behind, causing Luffy to retract his hand in alarm, turning to the source. His eyes widened as he took in the figure that spoke. It was the man in the painting, and he was just as beautiful and unsmiling as he was in the portrait. Or maybe more so.

“I’m just looking around,” Luffy stated matter-of-factly, offering a casual shrug. The taller man looked surprised by his answer and he narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t you know who I am?”

Luffy tilted his head, not really getting the question. “Er, sure I do,” he started with a serious frown. “You’re the guy who’s in that painting.” He pointed at the portrait he had been looking at before. When he turned back to the other, he noticed how that answer hadn’t pleased him.

“I’m the prince, you imbecile,” he sighed, a thin hand raising up to pinch the bridge of his nose with obvious annoyance. “Don’t you know anything?”

Luffy gave a childish huff, upset that he was being underestimated yet again. “I know plenty of stuff,” he insisted, thinking hard. “Like... I know you’re not supposed to leave the door of the coop open otherwise the chickens will get out. And, and I’m not allowed to eat the potatoes while harvesting them because my brother, Sabo, says that some parts are poisonous. But I eat them anyway, ‘cause I get hungry. And...” He looked up at the man again. “And even though you kinda look pretty, you’re mean. And you’re stupid! That’s because you look like you think you’re better than everybody when you’re not. Everybody is bad at something, so you gotta be, too.” He gave a triumphant nod as though he were saying: “and that’s that.”

The man gave a wide-eyed expression before suddenly bursting into laughter.

 

Law didn’t know what brought him to this side of the castle. No one really visited this area anymore, so it was used mostly for storage. But every once in awhile, he wants to get away from all of the hustle and bustle and he makes his way down this corridor, the quiet easing his mind. He had hoped he would be alone and unfortunately, he wasn’t. There was a boy, dressed in a commoner’s outfit, who looked as though he were playing some sort of adventure game. He couldn’t just let some peasant wander around without permission, so he did what he was supposed to do and confronted him.

But what he didn’t expect was for him to say something so  _ ridiculous _ that it was  _ hilarious _ . At first, he was alarmed, because he felt a bubbling rise up in his chest. Those bubbles, he soon realized, was laughter, and a lot of it. A strange sound came from his lips and he felt tears in his eyes. Why was it so funny? How could he be laughing? The noise resounded throughout the corridor and echoed through the castle. It was a sound that had not been expressed in the longest time. And to Law, it felt wonderful. His chest was free of the weight that came with the solemnity he had kept himself to all those years.

All of this was unknown to the boy before him he merely looked at him in confusion. “I wasn’t  _ that _ funny, was I?” he inquired skeptically. Eventually, Law calmed himself and he wiped the tears from his eyes.

“I haven’t laughed, or smiled, like that in a very long time,” he explained, eventually settling with a soft curl of his lips.

“Well, why not?” the boy, who he now realized was wearing a straw hat, asked.

“I never had any reason to.”

The boy stared at him intently, frown still on his face. Soon, that frown turned into another one of his infamous grins, his brightness practically lighting the corridor. “In that case,” he held out his hand. “My name is Luffy, and from now on, I’ll help you keep smiling, got it? ‘Cause being happy is more important than anything. Especially when you’re happy with your friends.”

Law was yet again surprised by his words, but he found that he welcomed the feeling as he reached out and took his hand. “My name is Trafalgar Law. I’d appreciate your help.”

News spread around the castle like a wildfire. Soon, everybody in the entire  _ kingdom _ found out that Law had started smiling again. Rocinante was practically in tears that his beloved son had found a reason to express himself again. Luffy had been asked to marry Law, of which he refused as he insisted he was fine just being there for him and giving him all the happiness he needed. Which didn’t seem any different, so no one was opposed to it. Robin and Franky finally found Luffy and were relieved to hear that he hadn’t actually caused any damage to the castle or any of its inhabitants. Ace and Sabo were both furious and proud of their younger brother for actually doing something no other prince could. And Law, Law was happy.


End file.
